RC Car Shock Adjustment (Part 1)

Shocks basically serve two purposes. They keep your chassis off the racing surface and keep the tires on track. The way that they accomplish this is to use a spring in combination with a damping medium, normally oil and a piston, to control the motion of the shock shaft throughout its complete range of motion.

The function of each of the components needs to be understood individually to have a have a better understanding as to what each one does and how it complements the other in performing the function of the shock.

Springs control the ride height of the car. Normally, it is best to use the softest spring that will keep the chassis off the ground. There are exceptions to this (as any other) rule but not too many. Once you have a basic ‘feel’ for the adjustments, you will know when you need more spring.

Piston and shock oil are there to control the motion of the spring. Without them the car would just bounce until the energy that was put into the spring by the suspension dissipated itself. A full scale car with worn out shocks tend to wander and bounce after hitting a bump. Dampers absorb the excess energy stored by the strings when the car goes over a bump. Without dampers the car would bounce up and down uncontrollably.

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